Brighton and Hove City Council has spent £40,000 to discover it is only half as good as it was two years ago.

The number of people who think the council does a good job has fallen dramatically from 74 per cent to 41 per cent.

Those who think the council is efficient and well run have dropped from 69 to 32 per cent and those who think it has sensible policies have declined from 62 to 36 per cent.

But the council continues to score well on other issues, such as having friendly staff and keeping people informed.

A survey was conducted earlier this year which involved questioning 1,068 people on a wide range of issues.

Similar surveys were conducted in 1997 and 1999.

Generally, there is a decline in satisfaction.

The number of people thinking the council provides good value for money has dropped from 54 to 27 per cent and those who think it responds quickly to queries have also halved, from 44 to 22 per cent.

The least satisfied people are those between 45 and 64 and the most satisfied are young people.

There is little doubt problems with the refuse service strongly coloured many people's views.

Council leader Ken Bodfish said: "Participants shared our concerns about environmental aspects of the city, such as street cleaning, refuse collections, recycling, repairs to roads and pavements and traffic."

The council has now taken the refuse and street cleaning services back from private contractors.

Coun Bodfish said: "We are on the way towards delivering a more efficient service.

"There is now a definite air of enthusiasm within the workforce."

Opposition Tory leader Brian Oxley said: "These figures are a damning indictment of the Labour-run council. People have clearly lost confidence in it.

"The recent costly reversals on an elected mayor and Palmeira House, with the budget crisis and the homelessness problem, add up to a picture of an administration that cannot cope with its own difficulties and those facing the city."

He said the figures showed the public was ready for a change in political leadership.

Liberal Democrat group leader Paul Elgood said: "£40,000 is a lot of money to tell people what they knew and the council is not reacting properly or sensitively to their concerns.

"It is not taking on board the findings. If a business found results like this, it would seek action."

Green convenor Keith Taylor said: "This survey confirms what we have been saying. The respect and co-operation of the public has to be earned, not taken for granted."

Exactly half those surveyed are satisfied with refuse collections. Proportions for other services include street cleaning (44), repairs to roads (39), pollution control (42) and council-house repairs (41).

The survey shows most people are satisfied with sports, leisure and education services.

The survey said: "The conclusion was the greatest increase in overall satisfaction with the council could be made through improvements to refuse collection."

Most people who have dealt personally with the council in the last year are satisfied with the service they received.

One in five think council tax should increase if the council gets less money from the Government in grants next year.

The Press, especially The Argus and the Brighton and Hove Leader, was a source of information for more than half the people surveyed.

Councillors will be given a full presentation on the results on Monday.